U.S. EPA Releases Latest Report on Chemical Releases in Hawaii / 3-million pounds of toxic chemicals released into environment, majority of releases resulted from power generation

(03/19/09) HONOLULU – Toxic releases into the environment from facilities operating in Hawaii increased less than 1 percent in 2007 when compared to 2006, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The data comes from the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory, commonly referred to as TRI. It’s one of EPA’s largest publicly available databases, arming communities with valuable information on more than 650 toxic chemicals released by various industries. The chemical information in the inventory is calculated by industrial facilities and reported to the EPA, as required by law.

Total releases include toxic chemicals discharged by facilities to air, water, land, and underground, and the amount transferred off-site for disposal. Regulatory controls apply to many of the reported releases. Reporting facilities must comply with environmental standards set by local, state and federal agencies.

“The Toxic Release Inventory program arms communities with powerful information,” said Laura Yoshii, acting EPA administrator for the Pacific Southwest region. “The inventory is a tremendous tool to help protect public health and the environment. Safe communities depend on well-informed citizens.”

Approximately 81 thousand pounds of total lead releases were reported. The military facilities released the largest amounts of reported lead, releasing 77 thousand pounds.

Annual Toxic Release Inventory reporting began in 1987. The inventory provides information on annual toxic chemical releases reported by certain industrial and federal facilities. The TRI does not include data on toxic emissions from cars and trucks, nor from the majority of non-industrial sources, such as agriculture. In 2000, TRI expanded to include persistent bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals, or PBTs, at ranges from 0.1 grams to 100 pounds. PBT pollutants are toxic chemicals that remain in the environment and food chain, posing risks to human health and ecosystems.

The top facilities in Hawaii for chemicals releases (reported in pounds) are:

Facility Name

City

Total Releases

1

Hawaiian Electric Co Inc Kahe Generating Station

Kapolei

820,976

2

US Navy Pearl Harbor Naval Complex

Pearl Harbor

373,735

3

Hawaiian Electric Co Inc Waiau Generating Station

Pearl City

342,801

4

Chevron Products Co – Hawaii Refinery

Kapolei

277,526

5

Hawaii Electric Light Co Inc Hill Generating Station

Hilo

210,169

6

Maui Electric Co Ltd Kahului Generating Station

Kahului

210,123

7

AES Hawaii Inc

Kapolei

155,988

8

Hawaii Electric Light Co Inc Puna Generating Station

Keaau

92,006

9

Maui Electric Co Ltd Maalaea Generating Station

Kihei

88,368

10

US Army Schofield Barracks/Wheeler Army Airfield

Schofield Barracks

79,115

Some findings of interest at the national level:

There was a 5 percent decrease in total disposal or other releases into the environment nationwide from 2006 to 2007.

PBTs make up 12 percent of total releases and have increased by 1 percentage point from 2006-2007. Lead drives overall PBT statistics with 98 percent of total releases for 2007. Lead showed a less than 1 percent increase (3.5 million pounds) from 2006-2007.

Mercury releases increased by 38 percent (1.9 million pounds).

On-site land releases are down 6 percent (113 million pounds) since 2006.